Does carotid intima-media complex thickness and carotid plaque assessment by ultrasound predict adverse cardiovascular events in primary and secondary care patients?
This review provides a comprehensive overview of the clinical applications, technical aspects, and limitations of ultrasound-based CIMT and carotid plaque assessment for cardiovascular risk stratification.
Recently published recommendations from the American Society of Echocardiography on 'Carotid Arterial Plaque Assessment by Ultrasound for the Characterization of Atherosclerosis and Evaluation of Cardiovascular Risk' provoked discussion once more on the potential clinical applications of carotid intima-media complex thickness (CIMT) and carotid plaque assessment in the context of cardiovascular risk in both primary and secondary care patients. This review paper addresses key issues and milestones regarding indications, assessment, technical aspects, recommendations, and interpretations of CIMT and carotid plaque findings. We discuss lacks of evidence, limitations, and possible future directions.
Kabłak-Ziembicka et al. (Sat,) studied this question.